Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned: Chapter 7

[Lana Ryder]

"Knew I'd find you two here." Lana said as she slid into a chair and set her glass down on the table. "So I take it you're talking about that 'Quest'? Still trying to wrap my head around that. You're not planning on going with them are you?"

[Black ANGEL Alpha]

"It's a crazy story but I've lived enough crazy stories... " Kirby said as she walked over to them with refills. "If you do go, be careful alright? I only raised y'bloody dingo children most of your lives, would entirely like to see you get old." she turned a chair around and sat on it backwards. "So Livvy... still bugging your brother with your love of Tolkien? Liv's dad had a friend way back when that was like Aragorn, called him Eomer. It was cool yet... geeky as hell." she sighed. "I still can't believe we lost Kim, it's making me want to dust off the Black ANGELs and take the fight back to Earth."

[Livvy Sandoval]

Livvy sighed, "Not exactly.... okay yeah I compared this to the Fellowship. From what I have gathered from this Vogler woman you may have to. The Prophet seems to have his sights on the entire galaxy."

[Lana Ryder]

"Yeah... I haven't exactly been crazy about the Alliance's opinion to keep Earth embargoed. But if the Prophet wants to start taking over everything else, then that makes them as clear a danger as any of the big bads we've faced." Lana said and looked at Kirby. "Like you and mom always taught me, a threat can only be left alone until it can no longer be ignored. Looks to me like that's happening."

"I tried to train you all so you could survive whatever came." Kirby said softly. "So if you feel you need to do this, then I hope my training was enough. You're just as tenacious as your namesake Livvy."

[Livvy Sandoval]

"Whatever this is, it's different from Dominus. I saw that first hand." The events of that captivity were still fresh on her mind. From her perspective that had only happened a few months ago. She remembered grandma saying something about time travel giving her a headache, and Livvy fully understood the sentiment.

"The followers don't exactly follow the Prophet like Dominus' goons did. And the true believes are nothing short of scary." Livvy slid a PADD across the table to Lana. It was from the full debriefing of Astrid Vogler. She wasn't supposed to be in possession of this account, but Astrid had seen fit to give it to Livvy. They weren't exactly friends, but Livvy supposed she was the closest person on the planet that was."

[Lana Ryder]

Lana looked at the PADD and shook her head. "Yeah, in some ways I'd almost rather take Dominus' goons again than these. They're walking contradictions. I know when I was still touring closer to Earth, some of their followers were downright nuts. Decrying my music as 'Satanic' and yet they would behead people in the name of their 'Prophet'."

"Or trying to kill the rest of the Mata Haris." Kirby rolled her eyes. "Obviously going up against us was a mistake, they quickly realized."

"Why do you think I stopped touring that far out?" Lana said with a sigh and handed the PADD to Kirby. "Think Alpha Section knows anything more than this? First time we've had some first hand account in a couple years."

"I'll have to run it through the system. Although I think maybe holding it close to the vest is the best option here. Never know who's really watching." Kirby said as she handed it back to Livvy after quickly reading it herself. "I'm going to stay topside a bit more. Besides, Tasha needs another bartender." she chuckled lightly.

"Make it easier for mom to find you." Lana teased.

"Your mother has been wearing me out these last few weeks. I think she's convinced that she or I are going to be tapped to provide support on this quest." Kirby said as she refilled the twins drinks. "So Lana, you going with them?"

"Not sure... but maybe. Someone has to keep an eye on them. Out of curiosity Livvy... did I ever ask you to stay in the past when I was younger? I'm pretty sure I would have."

[Livvy Sandoval]

Livvy shook her head, "You didn't. Though, I didn't have much of an opportunity to see much or say much of anything before they gave me the Walt Disney. Grandma and Uncle Nick were young though, as was Jack."

[Lana Ryder]

"Too bad... not that I didn't enjoy watching you grow up. Still felt like most of my friends were much older, even though in the back of my head, I still feel as if we're only a few years apart in age." Lana said and sighed. "Maybe that's why I have a hard time dating. People like Vinelli, Dominus, this Prophet asshole... they live to ruin lives, they take everything from a person and yet... they have no clue who you really are. As if it was all just collateral damage. We have time travel tech and yet... we can't really use it, we'll just create another alternate reality. Course, Di and Art's folks came from an alternate future... of like now. I'm sure Astrid wouldn't agree that this is a better timeline. Although from what Trinity told me, the entire Alpha and Beta Quadrants were wiped out. Just gone. But... for everyone that the Church killed on Earth and the other outlying colonies... it may as well have been."

[Livvy Sandoval]

Livvy frowned, "But, how many have we saved? I tend to believe Uncle Ethan. Aunt Trinity really doesn't talk about. Ethan doesn't either," she added. "Just tidbits."

[Black ANGEL Alpha]

"Still feels like after Dominus was taken out and Earth... ended up like it did... could have done more, but everyone was so damn war weary. And it's gone beyond the point where we just send an assassin to take the Prophet out and expect things to change." Kirby said with a winced. "Would have been an option earlier on, deploy me or Selene or Lyashev or all of us and take out the entire thing - but then we'd look like we're somehow the bad guys and 'just as bad as the imperium." she sighed heavily. "It's just frakked up."